What's Happening in Hamilton, NJ…

After two years of meetings and studies, the township council of Hamilton took steps towards unifying its fire department at the start of December.

In a 5-0 vote, the council decided to consolidate the nine fire districts in Hamilton into a single municipal fire department.

Towns that are considering changing how a certain component operates can use printing services to create the documents they need for review, and to provide documents to others in the town.

The council's vote is just the first step in what might be a long process of bringing the separate districts together under the banner of a single fire department. The vote did not create the new department or dissolve any of the current districts.

Instead, the plan for consolidation will be put on hold until January, when a new council will convene and decide how to move forward.

Options for creating the new department include consolidating the districts into a single district that would oversee firefighting activities and efforts for all of Hamilton. The new, united district would be led by an elected board of commissioners.

The second option is to completely abolish or dissolve the current nine districts, creating a fire department. The department would be under the jurisdiction of town leaders, and would be funded by Hamilton's municipal budget.

The goal is to have the new unified fire department established by 2019.